So awhile back I made this post about russia occupying Kuril islands, seizing all of them after the World War 2. And, like, I really cannot stress enough how bad it is. The closest island to Hokkaido is called Kunashiri island and it is only 1300km away. Japan claims Southern Kuril islands as part of Nemuro subprefecture, but ultimately russia administrates all of them, up to Habomai islands.
I got a comment about these islands "not being ethnically Japanese anyway so it doesn't matter that russia took them". I knew that the person who wrote this was profoundly wrong because, well, russia very famously colonised large parts of Asia. The only reason ethnical russians live so far East is extensive government programmes to populate the area with russians.
But some things just naturally come back to you, I guess.
Recently I've been browsing google maps and found out that Sakhalin island was also part of Japan once. Firstly, I saw how close Sakhalin was to Hokkaido which made me wonder - russia famously encroaches on neighbouring lands, especially if they are islands. Surely enough, mere seconds later I saw a town called Tomari on Sakhalin - not very russian-sounding. If you click on District Culture House (Районный дом культуры), you will see pictures of monuments with Japanese on them.
Then I turned to the most-northern Japanese city Wakkanai. It has a monument called The Gate of Ice and Snow - Karafuto Islanders Memorial.
One of the comments there reads:
Gate of Ice and Snow (氷雪の門) and the Sakhalin Islanders Memorial Monument are among the most meaningful historical sites in Wakkanai, offering both a powerful memorial experience and a spectacular viewpoint. The monument was established to honor the Japanese residents of Sakhalin who lost their lives or were displaced during the turbulent period surrounding the end of World War II. At the center stands a sorrowful statue of a woman, symbolizing the grief and separation experienced by those who were forced to leave their homeland. The most striking feature is the large white stone gateway, which frames the distant horizon and creates a solemn yet beautiful scene. The monument's elevated location on the hillside provides sweeping views of the sea and northern coastline. On exceptionally clear days, visitors can look through the gate toward the horizon and glimpse the distant outline of Sakhalin Island, now part of Russia, adding a profound geographical and historical connection to the memorial. Combining history, remembrance, and stunning scenery, this is one of the most moving and memorable places to visit in Wakkanai.
If you open the Wikipedia page for Kuril islands, it will say that the lands were primarily inhabited by the Ainu people (who were very famously colonised by the Japanese people). It also has this picture of historical territories the Ainu inhabited:
The Wiki page for Ainu also states that "[t]he Ainu are an indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai. They have occupied these areas, known to them as "Ainu Mosir" (Ainu: アイヌモシㇼ, lit. 'the land of the Ainu'), since before the arrival of the modern Yamato and Russians".
Going even further, there was a russian political group called Zemlyak (Земляк) - it got translated as "countryman" but in modern russian it is closer to the English meaning of "native". It was active in the 1990s and was advocating for Kuril islands to be returned to Japan. The campaigning was unsuccessful. The Wiki does say this: "[t]he group was unpopular among locals in Kunashir, who criticized Lukyanov's "pro-Japanese position". The source for this quote was taken from an article in Novaya Gazeta - it is generally considered an independent liberal-democratic newspaper that regularly investigates and criticises the government. After reading this article, though... Like yeah, it does report the current situation (for 2019). It does that, however, without any historical background. It is boldly titled "Why Kunashir doesn't want to join Japan", and what it basically is is going to Kunashiri and asking a bunch of russians there if they want to join Japan. Personally I think it can be summed up with this quote from the article:
Еще в Тюмени Дмитрию говорили, что на Кунашире живут одни японцы, но и тут обманули: их на острове нет с 1949 года.
Additionaly, in Tyumen Dmitriy was told that only Japanese people live on Kushnir, but he was lied to - there are no Japanese people here since 1949.
I wonder why, considering that russia claimed Southern Kuril islands AND Sakhalin island in 1945 after the WW2, and we know that russia does the exact same thing to every piece of land it gets - it populates it with russians. And sure, you can say "but Japan occupied southern part of Sakhalin in the early 1900s and before that it belonged to russia". Sure, fair criticism, which brings me to my last point.
Yes, Sakhalin and the Kuril islands are not ethnically Japanese. They are also not ethnically russian. I will go as far as to say that Kamchatka is not ethnically russian. Because all those lands were inhabited by the Ainu before both the Japanese and the russians came. Honestly, the majority of modern-day russia is not ethnically russian - it is the same story again and again. They come, they conquer, they plant russians there, they change the names to russian ones, they drive away the native population and russify the rest, they build Orthodox churches, they build on top of the ruins. Most importantly, they make you forget all of this 5-20 years later, and when you look at the evidence - you allow yourself to be convinced by them: you look at the percentage of russians living there, you look at russian being the dominant language there, you look at the churches-theatres-museums that they built (that is why they raze cities to the ground beforehand) and you say "huh, they are right, these lands are russian through and through".
You, my friend, are not immune to russian propaganda.
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